Students from Jesuit high
schools use day off for service

Kate Lorenz, a student at St. Ignatius College Prep, high fives Misericordia resident Jill H. as they visit during lunch. Karen Callaway/Catholic New World

Katie Loftus, a student at St. Ignatius College Prep, looks over a letter as she visits with Misericordia resident Marsha A. Karen Callaway/Catholic New World

Cate Lenti, students at St. Ignatius College Prep, works in the bakery cutting brownies with Misericordia resident Mary H. Karen Callaway/Catholic New World

Mabely Dominguez and Daniela Reyes, students at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, look over a yearbook with Misericordia resident Tyler S. as they visit during lunch. Karen Callaway/Catholic New World

rancisco Cano, from Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, laughs along with Misericordia resident Jonathon H. as they visit during lunch. Karen Callaway/Catholic New World

Cate Lenti, Kate Lorenz, and Katie Loftus, students at St. Ignatius College Prep, work in the bakery cutting brownies with Misericordia resident Mary H. Karen Callaway/Catholic New World

By Michelle Martin

STAFF WRITER

It was an unseasonably warm
Presidents Day this year, the
kind of day that promises
spring will come, even if a winter
has a few more spasms of snow
and ice up its sleeve.

And for high school students, it
was the kind of day that’s perfect
for sleeping in: no school; no
sports commitments; mom and
dad probably off to work, so no
one to nag them to get out of bed
before noon.

So what motivated more than
150 students from the Archdiocese
of Chicago’s four Jesuit high
schools to make their way to St.
Ignatius High School for an early
morning Mass, before being sent
out to serve at 11 area sites, ranging
from soup kitchens and homeless
shelters to organizations serving
children and the elderly?

The teens were participating in
the second annual Jesuit Service
Day, a student-organized voluntary
event that brings together students
from Christ the King College
Prep, Cristo Rey High
School, St. Ignatius College Prep
and Loyola Academy to put into
practice the Jesuit motto of being
“men and women for others.”

Students helped out at the St.
Columbanus Food Pantry; Deborah’s
Place, which offers transitional
housing for women; the
Lincoln Park Community Shelter;
Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly;
White Rose Catholic Worker House; the Freedom School; and Cornerstone
Community Services. The group
that drew the most envy were those who
went to Marillac House and took younger
children bowling.

The group that went to Misericordia, a
North Side home for more than 600 developmentally
disabled children and
adults, said that they wanted to have fun
and meet students from other schools, as
well as to do a bit of good for someone
else.

The students toured some of the working
areas of Misericordia — places where
residents work at real jobs, developing
self-confidence and a sense of dignity
while earning some spending money as
well. Then they ate lunch with some of
the residents before helping out in the
bakery packaging area and the art studio.

Paulia Reyes, a junior at Cristo Rey,
1852 W. 22nd Place, said she participated
in the first Jesuit Service Day in 2012
and had fun, so she decided to do it
again. If she stayed home, she said, she
probably would still be sleeping at
lunchtime.

Neither she nor the other students —
except the site leader who coordinated
the visit to Misericordia — knew where
they would be sent when they arrived at
St. Ignatius that morning.

Her classmate Mabely Dominguez said
she came because she “wanted to give
back to the community,” but she loved
Misericordia.

“It’s so cute!” she said. “Everyone is so
nice!”

Andrew Richter and Katie Loftus, both
seniors at St. Ignatius, 1076 W. Roosevelt
Road, said they came to have fun as well
as to serve. Richter said a friend of his
participated last year and enjoyed it, and
Loftus said she always has fun when she
does service projects.

She’s also working on the school mission
collection, she said, so she thought if
she was going to be asking other students
to give, she should give some of her own
time.

Francisco Cano, a junior at Cristo Rey
who was the site leader for Misericordia,
said students at his school, like most Jesuit
schools, do a lot of service hours,
and they generally get back as much or
more than they give. In this case, he got
to know Misericordia, where he plans to
return to volunteer more.

“And just being together with the other
schools is awesome,” he said.

Josh Horton, a sophomore at Christ the
King, 5088 W. Jackson Blvd., liked connecting
with the other students as well. It
was a little uncomfortable at first, he
said, because there were so many people
he didn’t know, but they very quickly established
a sense of camaraderie.

“That’s how it was when I first came to
Christ the King,” he said, acknowledging
that learning to get along with new
groups of people is a valuable life skill.

Erin Croghan, a junior at Loyola Academy
in Wilmette, said both with students
from other schools and offering service,
without knowing where, were an exercise
in stepping out of her daily routine.

“I think it’s really good for high school
students to get out of their comfort zones
early,” she said.